Customized acquisition of content by a broadband gateway

ABSTRACT

Aspects of a method and system for customized acquisition of content by a broadband gateway are provided. A broadband gateway may be operable to determine options for acquiring particular content. The broadband gateway may be operable to rank the determined options. The ranking may be based on one or more characteristics of the options and based on user-specified criteria. The broadband gateway may be operable to select one of the options for acquiring the content based on results of the ranking. One or more of the options may be available via a first physical layer connection and one or more of the options may be available via a second physical layer connection. The gateway may rank the determined options based on attributes of one or more devices via which the particular content will be consumed.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This patent application also makes reference to:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,321 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,355 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981/971 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,993 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,216 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,433 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,205 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,353 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,966 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,453 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,172 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,429 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,990 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,442 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,000 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,010 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,022 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,986 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,236 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,091 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,213 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,166 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,340 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,073 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,501 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,206 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,440 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,171 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,223 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,305 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,477 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,331 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,036 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,196 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,405 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,753 filed on Dec. 30, 2010;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/982,414 filed on Dec. 30, 2010; and

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/981,753 filed on Dec. 30, 2010.

Each of the above stated applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to a broadband gateway. Morespecifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a methodand system for customized acquisition of content by a broadband gateway.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the continuous growth of digital television or broadcastmultimedia, and/or broadband access, which may be used in conjunctionwith online businesses, social networks, and/or other online servicesand applications, users may desire having access to a larger number ofproviders and/or a broader range of content in a manner that is flexibleand/or suits the users' lifestyles. Most users connect to the Internetusing web browsers running on personal computers (PCs). Furthermore,most households may have one or more televisions that may be used toview television and/or multimedia broadcasts. Television broadcasts mayinclude terrestrial TV, Cable-Television (CATV), satellite TV and/orInternet Protocol television (IPTV) based broadcasts. To ensure againstunauthorized reception and/or use of TV and/or multimedia broadcast,service providers may require use of dedicated set-top boxes (STBs) thatmay be used to encrypt broadcast signals communicated from the serviceproviders to generate suitable video and/or audio streams that may beplayed via televisions and/or other display/playback devices in thehousehold. Furthermore, STBs and/or TVs may support Internet access.Thus, rather than using a computer to access the Internet, a user mayfind it more convenient to use the flat screen televisions and/ormonitors in homes for the same purpose. To do so, for example, an STBcommunicatively coupled to a flat screen television may be provided withweb browsing software and protocols, and Internet connectivity, whichmay enable the user to easily access the Internet or check theirelectronic mail (email), for example, from a convenient and comfortablelocation such as their living room.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method is provided for customized acquisition of contentby a broadband gateway, substantially as illustrated by and/or describedin connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth morecompletely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat comprises a home network serviced by a broadband gateway, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary broadband gateway,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is diagram illustrating a broadband gateway operable to customizedelivery of content, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for customizedacquisition and delivery of content, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 5 is flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for customizedacquisition and delivery of content, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 6 is flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for customizedacquisition and delivery of content, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for ranking contentoptions, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and systemfor customized acquisition of content by a broadband gateway. In variousembodiments of the invention, a broadband gateway may be operable todetermine options for acquiring particular content. The broadbandgateway may be operable to rank the determined options. The ranking maybe based on one or more characteristics of the options and based onuser-specified criteria. The broadband gateway may be operable to selectone of the options for acquiring the content based on the ranking. Thebroadband gateway may support a plurality of physical layer connectionsto a corresponding plurality of network access service providers. One ormore of the options may be available via a first one of the plurality ofphysical layer connections and one or more of the options may beavailable via a second one of the plurality of physical layerconnections. The one or more characteristics may comprise one or moreof: a provider associated with each of the options, a time ofavailability of each of the options, a quality of the particular contentassociated with each of the options, a power consumption associated witheach of the options, and a price associated with each of the options.

The user specified criteria may comprise one or more of: criteria forselecting between the options based on providers associated with theoptions, criteria for selecting between the options based on a time atwhich each of the options can be acquired, criteria for selectingbetween the options based on quality of a version of the particularcontent associated with each of the options, criteria for selectingbetween the options based on power consumption associated with acquiringand consuming the content, and criteria for selecting between theoptions based on a price associated with each of the options. Theuser-specified criteria may be stored in memory in the broadbandgateway. The gateway may rank the determined options based on attributesof one or more devices via which the particular content will beconsumed. The attributes may comprise one or more of: a displayresolution of the one or more devices, a decoding technique supported bythe one or more devices, and a bandwidth of a connection between the oneor more devices and the broadband gateway. The attributes may be storedin memory in said broadband gateway.

The broadband gateway may be operable to generate a score for each oneof the options and the options may be ranked based on the score. Thescore of an option may be generated by assigning one or morecoefficients to the one or more characteristics of the options,weighting the one or more coefficients by one or more correspondingweighting factors, and summing the weighted coefficients. The weightingfactors may be determined based on the user-specified criteria and/or onthe attributes of one or more devices by which the particular content isto be consumed.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat comprises a home network serviced by a broadband gateway, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 1,there is shown a home network 100 a, a plurality of distributionnetworks 110, a plurality of service providers 120, and a plurality ofcontent providers 130. The home network 100A may be serviced by abroadband gateway 102. Also shown in FIG. 1 are additional home networks100 b, . . . , 100 n, an emergency services provider network 140, and anetwork of a power grid management entity 142. Each of the home networks100 b, . . . , 100 n may also be serviced by a broadband gateway 102.

The service providers 120 may comprise various entities which mayprovide various services to the devices 104 via the gateway 102 and/orto the gateway 102 itself. Some of the service providers 120 maycomprise network access service providers which provide physical layerconnections to the gateway 102. Such physical layer connections may thenbe utilized to access, and/or may be part of, one or more of thedistribution networks 110. In this regard, “network access serviceprovider” as utilized herein, is distinguished from the more genericterm “service provider” which may encompass services other thanproviding physical layer access to a network. Cable televisionproviders, plain old telephone service (POTS) providers, digitalsubscriber line (DSL) providers, cellular providers, WiMAX providers,and satellite providers are examples of network access serviceproviders.

The content providers 130 may generate, capture, and/or package content,such as multimedia content, that may be distributed to end-users. Thecontent may comprise, for example, audio, video, e-book, gaming, and/orother content. The content may be, for example, downloadable and/orstreaming, rented and/or purchased. In some instances, a contentprovider and a service provider may be separate. In some instances, asingle provider may provide both content and services. For example, anentity that functions as a network access service provider may alsoprovide content and/or services other than network access and, thus,that entity may also be accurately referred to as a “content provider”and/or a “service provider.” Content and/or services that are providedby a content provider 130 and/or a service provider 120 may be providedto the gateway 102 via a physical layer connection provided by a networkaccess service provider 120.

The plurality of distribution networks 110 may comprise one or morenetworks that may be operable to enable wireless, optical, and/or wiredcommunication among a plurality of entities based on one or morenetworking and/or communication infrastructures. In this regard, theplurality of distribution networks 110 may be utilized to enabledistributing multimedia content generated by the content providers 130,directly and/or via the service providers 120, to end-users. The networkconnectivity available via the plurality of distribution networks 110may be based on one or more communication standards and/or protocols.The plurality of distribution networks 110 may comprise, for example,the Internet 110 a, a CATV network 110 b, a satellite television (TV)network 110 c, a wireless local area network/wide area network (LAN/WAN)110 d, and/or a cellular network 110 e.

The Internet 110 a may comprise a system of interconnected networks toenable exchange of data between a plurality of nodes, based on one ormore networking standards, including, for example, the Internet Protocol(IP). For example, the Internet 110 a may enable connectivity among aplurality of private and public, academic, business, and/or governmentnodes and/or networks. The physical connectivity may be provided in theInternet 110 a via, for example, the Public Switched Telephone Network(PSTN), copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless interfaces, and/orother protocols and/or standards-based interfaces. The transportfunctionality may be performed in the Internet 110 a based on, forexample, one or more protocols, such as the Transmission ControlProtocol/IP (TCP/IP), for example. The CATV network 110 b may comprisesuitable distribution nodes, systems, and/or subnetworks that may enableforwarding of communication between CATV providers and a plurality ofcable-TV consumers. For example, the CATV network 110 b may comprise anetwork of fiber optics and/or coaxial cables for use in CATVbroadcasts. The satellite TV network 110 c may comprise suitabledistribution nodes, systems, and/or subnetworks that may enablecommunication of satellite TV broadcast by satellite TV providers to aplurality of consumers. For example, the satellite network 110 c maycomprise a plurality of orbiting satellite nodes and/or one or moreterrestrial centers in a satellite-TV system.

The LAN/WAN network 110 d may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to enable implementation ofone or more wired and/or wireless LAN or WAN standards and/or protocols.Exemplary WAN technologies comprise, for example, WiMAX-based networks.Exemplary LAN technologies may comprise, for example, those based onIEEE 702.11 standards, including, for example, WiFi-based networks. Thecellular network 110 e may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to enable communication viaone or more cellular technologies. Exemplary cellular technologies maycomprise Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA),CDMA1000, High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), Global System forMobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS),Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE), and/or Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS). The cellular network 110 e maycomprise, for example, a plurality of control and/or switching nodes,and a plurality of base stations that enable transmission and/orreception of cellular based communications between the cellular network110 e and cellular capable devices.

The home network 100 a may correspond to a location that may comprise aplurality of devices 104 which may be serviced and/or managed by thebroadband gateway 102. In this regard, the location may be a residence(e.g., home, apartment), a small business, a school, a library, and/orother like settings in which users may want to obtain access to serviceand/or to content provider networks. The broadband gateway 102 may beutilized in the home network 100 a to provide connectivity between thehome network 100 a and the service providers 120 (and/or the contentproviders 130) via the distribution networks 110.

The broadband gateway 102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to provide connectivitybetween one or more devices in a home network, such as the home network100 a, and a plurality of external networks. For example, the broadbandgateway 102 may handle a plurality of broadband physical layerconnections 108 to the distribution networks 110. The broadband physicallayer connections 108 may comprise wired, optical, and/or wirelessconnections between the broadband gateway 102 and the distributionnetworks 110. The broadband gateway 102 may operate as an interfacedevice that may allow one or more service and/or content providers tointeract with various devices in the home network. In this regard, thebroadband gateway 102 may be operable to perform and/or provide variousservices that may pertain to enabling and/or facilitating reception ofcontent from one or more content providers, wherein the content may bedelivered through one or more services providers. For example, thebroadband gateway 102 may be operable to perform such operations asnetwork access related processing (e.g., PHY/MAC, transport layerprocessing), encryption and/or decryption, user and/or accountauthentication, and/or at least some of video and/or audio processingoperations that may be needed for consumption of multimedia content. Thebroadband gateway 102 may communicate with various devices in the homenetwork 100, using wired and/or wireless communication links.

A single gateway 102 may be operable to handle multiple physical layer(i.e., layer 1 of the open-systems interconnection model (OSI))connections 108 to multiple ones, or portions, of the distributionnetworks 110, where different ones or portions of the distributionnetwork(s) 110 are owned, operated, leased, or otherwise associated withdifferent network access service providers 120. For example, a firstnetwork access service provider 120 may provide network access to thegateway 102 via a DSL connection over twisted-pair cabling, and a secondnetwork access service provider 120 may provide network access to thegateway 102 via a cable television connection over coaxial cabling. Insome instances, the gateway 102 may be operable to concurrentlycommunicate over multiple physical layer connections 108 provided bymultiple network access service providers 120.

The broadband gateway 102 may also be operable to provide and/or supportvarious other, non-content related services in the home network 100. Forexample, the broadband gateway 102 may be operable to provide energymanagement in the home network 100 a, by controlling and/or adjustingconfiguration of one or more devices in the home network to reduce powerconsumption for example.

Devices serviced by, and/or communicatively coupled with the broadbandgateway 102 may comprise content consuming devices and/or other,non-content consuming household or home devices that may be operable tointeract with the broadband gateway 102. For example, the broadbandgateway 102 may service, and/or may communicate with a plurality of homedevices 104 a-104 m in the home network 100 a. The devices 104 a-104 mmay each be referred to as a communication device or an electronicdevice. The home devices may comprise, for example, one or more of atelevision 104 a, a laptop computer 104 b, a smoke detector, a carbonmonoxide detector, and/or a security alarm 104 c, a computer and/orserver 104 d, a mobile phone 104 e, a speaker 104 f, an AM/FM radio 104g, a phone 104 h, an appliance 104 i (e.g., refrigerator), a digitalvideo recorder (DVR) or personal video recorder (PVR) 104 j, athermostat or other environmental control(s) 104 k, a power strip 104 l,and lighting systems and/or controls 104 m. The broadband gateway 102may interact with each of the home devices 104 a-104 m via links 106a-106 m, which may be supported by the broadband gateway 102 and thecorresponding home device. For example, the link 106 a between thebroadband gateway 102 and the television 104 a may comprise aHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable. The link 106 b maycomprise, for example, a wired Ethernet link, a wireless Ethernet link,a Universal Serial Bus (USB) link, or an IEEE 1394 link. The link 106 cmay comprise, for example, a two-wire link or a wireless link. The link106 d may comprise, for example, a wired Ethernet link, a wirelessEthernet link, a USB link, or an IEEE 1394 link. The link 106 e maycomprise, for example, a wireless Ethernet link, a USB link, or acellular link. The link 106 f may comprise speaker wire and/or awireless link. The link 106 g may comprise, for example, AM and/or FMradio transmissions broadcast received using the broadband gateway 102.The link 106 h may comprise, for example, a phone line. The link 106 imay comprise, for example, a wired or wireless Ethernet link. The link106 j may comprise, for example, a wired or a wireless link. The link106 k may comprise, for example, a wired or wireless link. The link 106m may comprise, for example, a wired or wireless link.

The power strip 104 l may comprise one or more outlets and may compriseone or more plugs or other means of connecting to a power supply, suchas a wall outlet. The power strip 104 l may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to measureand/or monitor energy consumed via one or more of its outlets, enableand disable consumption of power via one or more of its outlets, and/orlimit current drawn via one or more if its outlets. The power strip 104l may be operable to communicate energy measurements via the link 106 l.Also, enabling, disabling, limiting, or otherwise controlling powerconsumed via one or more outlets of the power strip 104 l may beperformed in response to messages received via the link 106 l. The link106 l may comprise a wired or wireless link. The power strip 106 l maybe operable to communicate with the gateway 102 utilizing power linecommunication. For example, the gateway 102 may be plugged into anoutlet of the power strip 106 l and communicate with the gateway 102 viathat outlet, or the gateway 102 and the power strip 104 l may each beplugged into a common power distribution system.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of home networks 100 b, . . . ,100 n, may also be connected to the distribution networks 110. Thesehome networks 100 b, . . . , 100 n may operate in substantially the samemanner as the home network 100 a. By having multiple home networksconnected to the distribution networks 110, various applications, suchas peer-to-peer communication and/or data aggregation operations may bepossible by utilizing the broadband gateways 102 in the home networks.

In operation, for particular content that is to be delivered from aprovider 120 and/or 130 to a device 104, the gateway 102 may be operableto discover various options for obtaining the particular content. Thegateway 102 may be operable to rank the available options and select thehighest-ranking option.

In an embodiment of the invention, different options for obtainingparticular content may be characterized by, for example, differentprices, different power requirements, different providers, differentversions or quality of the content, and/or different times at which thecontent is available. For example, a search performed by the gateway 102may discover two options available for viewing “TV show.” The firstoption may enable streaming a lower-quality version of “TV show” from afirst provider at a first price, and a second option may provide forwaiting a day and downloading a higher-quality version of “TV show” froma second provider at a second price. The gateway 102 may rank theoptions based on the characteristics of the options. Although fivecharacteristics are described for illustration, the invention is notlimited to any particular characteristics or number of characteristics.

In an embodiment of the invention, the options for receiving particularcontent may be ranked based on how well their characteristics fit withuser-specified criteria. For example, a user may specify that he wantsthe highest-quality version of content that is available regardless ofcost, time of delivery, or provider. Quality may refer to, for example,resolution, frame rate, 2-D video vs. 3-D video, frame loss, and/orcompression level. Accordingly, the gateway 102 may, for example, rankthe options from highest quality of the content to lowest quality of thecontent. For another example, a user may specify that he is willing topay up to $X for the content if he can acquire the content within 24hours otherwise he is only willing to pay up to $Y. Accordingly, thegateway 102 may, for example, sort the content options by time ofavailability and then rank, by price, those options that are availablewithin the next 24 hours. These examples of user-specified criteria areonly examples for illustration. In practice, a user could specify anyqualitative and/or quantitative value, or range of values, for thecriteria by which the content options are ranked.

In an embodiment of the invention, the options for receiving particularcontent may be ranked based on how well the characteristics of theoptions fit with the attributes and/or capabilities of a device ordevices 104 via which the content will be consumed. For example, ininstances that content is to be delivered to a home theater with ahigh-definition display and surround sound, the gateway 102 may, forexample, rank the options from highest quality content to lowest qualitycontent. Conversely, in instances that content is to be delivered to ahandheld device, the gateway 102 may sort the content options byresolution and then, for the content options matching the resolution ofthe handheld device, sort them by cost and/or time of availability.

In some instances, the selected option may provide for pay-as-you-go, orper-download, or per-access payment. In such instances, the gateway 102may pay for the content and then download or stream the content.

In some instances, the selected option may be from a subscription-basedprovider. In such instances, the gateway 102 may be operable tonegotiate and/or enter into an agreement, a “micro-lease,” that providesfor a subscription that is limited in scope and/or duration relative tothe subscriptions that the provider usually offers. In an embodiment ofthe invention, micro-leases may be utilized in lieu of, and/or inconjunction with service level agreements (SLAs) to enable controllingand/or modifying service performance parameters based on actual needsand/or requirements. In this regard, a SLA may comprise a fixed,non-adjustable service contract with long duration, such as one or moreyears, whereas a micro-lease may comprise a dynamically establishedservice contract, for much shorter durations, such as on hourly, daily,or weekly basis, with negotiable performance requirements, such aslatency and/or quality of service, which are only applicable to theseshorter durations. Accordingly, instead of being bound by a longstanding SLA, which is configured in a fixed manner based on, and/orguaranteeing maximum possible performance requirements, subscribers mayconfigure and/or utilize micro-leases only when services are actuallyneeded, for only the actually required duration, and/or only based onactually needed performance requirements. Accordingly, the broadbandgateway 102 may configure different micro-leases for the managedservices based on determined actual needs and/or limitations. In thisregard, the broadband gateway 102 may establish the micro-leases basedon negotiating with the service providers. The negotiations may apply tosuch parameters as transmission bitrates, time of delivery, and/orquality of service, and/or apportionment and/or characteristics ofcontent in instances where the request may comprise obtaining content.For example, a cable television provider may typically provide contenton a monthly or yearly subscription basis, but the gateway 102 may beoperable to negotiate a micro-lease for shorter amount of time and/orfor specific content.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary broadband gateway,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2,the broadband gateway 102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, code,and/or interfaces that may be operable to provide connectivity betweenone or more networks, such as the distribution networks 110 shown inFIG. 1, for example, and one or more devices in a home network, such asthe home devices 104 a-104 j in the home network 100 a shown in FIG. 1.In this regard, the broadband gateway 102 may operate as an interfacedevice that allows one or more devices in the home network to access oneor more networks, and to access various services and/or content viathose one or more networks. For example, the broadband gateway 102 maybe utilized to enable interaction between the plurality of serviceproviders 120 and/or the plurality of content providers 130, and thehome devices 104 a-104 j.

The broadband gateway 102 may communicate with the various devices via ahome network that may comprise wired, optical, and/or wirelesscommunication links, such as the home network 100 a. In this regard, thebroadband gateway 102 may comprise suitable hardware and/or software toprovide some or all of the functions and/or operations of one or more ofa modem, a router, and a switch. The modem functions and/or operationsmay be those of a digital subscribed line (DSL) modem, a cable modem,and/or a wireless cable modem, for example. The router functions and/oroperations may be those of a wireless router, for example. The switchfunctions and/or operations may be those of a network switch, or a localarea network (LAN) switch, for example. In some instances, the broadbandgateway 102 may communicate with the various devices in the home viamore than one home network.

The broadband gateway 102 may comprise one or more modules. Each ofthese modules may comprise hardware, software, or a combination thereofthat may be utilized to perform various operations associated with thebroadband gateway 102. In an embodiment of the invention, the broadbandgateway 102 may comprise a provider interface module 202, a processormodule 204, a memory module 206, and a client network interface module208. In some instances, the broadband gateway 102 may be such that thevarious modules listed above may be distributed over multiple devices.Moreover, the modules listed above are provided by way of illustrationand not of limitation. Other configurations and/or architectures of thebroadband gateway 102 may also be implemented. For example, thebroadband gateway 102 may be a virtual gateway that is setup in anetwork by utilizing virtual machines (VMs) and/or next-generation (NG)data centers.

The provider interface module 202 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, code, and/or interfaces that may be operable to receive datafrom and/or send data to one or more service/content providers via oneor more physical layer connections 108 to one or more network accessservice providers. In this regard, each of the physical layerconnections 108 ₁-108 _(J) may connect the gateway 110 to a differentnetwork access service provider. Each of the physical layer connections108 may comprise a wired, optical, or wireless connection. Each of thephysical layer connections 108 may utilize different physical mediaand/or different physical layer protocols. For example, the connection108 ₁ may comprise a DSL over twisted-pair connection and the connection108 _(J) may comprise a CATV over coaxial cable connection.

The processor module 204 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, code,and/or interfaces that may be operable to process data received from theservice/content providers and/or data received from one or more devices104 in the home. Data from one or more devices 104 may comprise userinput such as feedback regarding consumed content and responses toquestionnaires, surveys, and polls. Data received from theservice/content providers via one or more the physical layer connections108 ₁-108 _(J) may be processed to make it suitable for communication toa device 108 and data from the one or more devices 104 may be processedto make it suitable for communication to the service/content providersvia one or more the physical layer connections 108 ₁-108 _(J). In thisregard, the processor module 124 may comprise one or more portions thatare suitable to handle certain types of data such as video data and/oraudio data, for example. The processor module 204 may also be operableto generate a graphical user interface (GUI) which may be manipulatedvia which a user may provide input. The GUI may be displayed as part ofan OSD on a local device 104, such as a monitor or television, and maybe manipulated via a remote control and/or other input device thatcommunicates directly with the gateway 102. The GUI may be a web-basedinterface, and a user may interact with it via a computer and webbrowser. The GUI may be customized based on characteristics of thegateway 102, the device 104 coupled to the gateway, and the serviceand/or content providers associated with the gateway 102. The processorsmodule 124 may utilize the memory 206 in performing its functions.

The memory module 206 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, code,and/or interfaces that may be operable to store data utilized in theoperations of the broadband gateway 102. For example, the memory module206 may be utilized to store configuration data, parameters, deviceinformation, tracking and/or monitoring information, securityinformation, and intermediate processing data, for example. The memorymodule 206 may comprise storage media, such as a hard drive, that may beintegrated in the broadband gateway 102 and/or may be removable such asa removable storage device.

The client network interface module 208 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, code, and/or interfaces that may be operable to receive datafrom and/or send data to one or more devices in the home network. Theclient network interface module 208 may be operable to support multiplecommunication protocols, standards, and/or data transport technologies.In this regard, the client network interface module 208 may handle oneor more physical layer connections to one or more devices 104. Forexample, the client network interface module 208 may comprise, one ormore wired and/or wireless Ethernet interfaces, one or more analogand/or digital audio outputs, one or more audio/video interfaces such assuch as HDMI and DisplayPort, one or more USB interfaces, one or moreIEEE 1394, and/or one or more telephone jacks.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to provide energy managementby varying the configuration of one or more devices in the home network.The broadband gateway 102 may collect and/or store energy-relatedinformation of the devices in the home network and/or of the links inthe home network, and may utilize such information to control theoperation of the home devices. For example, the broadband gateway 102may utilize channel capacity flexibility and content coding options tominimize and/or optimize power utilization. The broadband gateway 102may also configure and/or manage the configuration of the networkbetween the broadband gateway 102 and one or more service/contentproviders based on the energy-related information associated with thedevices in the home. For example, at least a portion of the distributionnetworks 100 may be configured and/or managed in this manner. Thebroadband gateway 102 may be utilized to display energy-related metrics,including consumption trends and/or costs, for example, and to displayany available credits/rewards that may be redeemed by an account holder.In some instances, when a device in the home network is a certifieddevice, such as a California efficient display, for example, thebroadband gateway 102 may be utilized to provide that information to aservice/content provider and obtain rewards/credits associated with theuse of such certified devices. Moreover, overall network powerconsumption may be managed by sharing information among multipleinterconnected broadband gateways.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to adapt and/or enable changesin a subscription model and/or in multimedia delivery characteristicsbased on the capabilities of the various devices in the home network.For example, high-definition video content may be delivered to certaintype of devices, such as digital televisions (DTVs), whilelow-definition video content and/or text may be delivered to a differenttype of devices, such as personal mobile devices. In this regard, thebroadband gateway 102 may be utilized to reduce bandwidth and/orprocessing power consumption in the home network. The broadband gateway200 may also support and/or use multi-transport processing, which may beperformed sequentially, in parallel, and/or utilizing distributedprocessing.

The gateway functionality associated with a user, such as securityfeatures, preferences, applications, electronic programming guides(EPGs), and user profile, for example, may be ported from the broadbandgateway 102 to one or more other broadband gateways 102 in otherlocations. In some instances, a visitor may be allowed access to theircontent outside their service/content provider service area by, forexample, classifying the access level for different users and/or byproviding limited access to content. Moreover, the broadband gateway 102may allow multiple user interface software structures by, for example,standardizing an interface to service/content providers and devices inthe home network.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to broker and/or arbitratewith service/content providers the consumption of certain services, suchas music and video, for example. In some instances, the broadbandgateway 102 may perform content search, transport discovery, ranking,and/or sorting. These operations may be performed based on contentquality, price, quality-of-service (QOS), and network protocolssupported by the devices in the home network, such as service levelagreements (SLAs), for example.

Various emergency-related services in the home network may be supportedby the broadband gateway 102, including allowing first responders toprovide alerts to a select group of users by accessing the broadbandgateway 102 via secure links provided by the service/content providers.For example, the broadband gateway 102 may enable an emergency serviceprovider, such as those associated with the emergency service providernetwork 140 described above in FIG. 1, to access one or more devices inthe home network.

For peer-to-peer communication, the broadband gateway 102 may beutilized to allow enhanced content sharing in a service/content providernetwork. In this regard, the broadband gateway 102 may be utilized toconstruct a directory service for peer-to-peer connectivity with friendsand family, for example. The broadband gateway 102 may be utilized toprovide incentives to users who engage in peer-to-peer communicationthrough, for example, the distribution networks 110. Moreover, thebroadband gateway 102 may be utilized to match the content coding to theservice type being consumed by the user and to make the necessaryallocations through the network with respect to peer-to-peer orconventional Internet programming or broadcast programming.

The broadband gateway 102 may be utilized in connection with constrainednetwork resources, such as time of day, traffic congestion, and thelike, for example, to provide incentives for a user to accept a lowercost, lower quality of service that is dynamically configured forcurrent network conditions. In some instances, the broadband gateway 102may allow enhanced low latency service delivery to client devices in ahome network.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to run or execute an agent toextract content, rating, copyright, language, privacy rules, andautomatically add user-generated content, for example. Such agent may berun or executed in connection with the processor module 204 of thebroadband gateway 102, for example. In some instances, the broadbandgateway 102 may be operable to provide rating-related information orchannel prediction to a service/content provider to assist with fastchannel change.

Bandwidth optimization by, for example, placing future requests forbandwidth to a service/content provider and accepting the best timeslotsprovided in return may be enabled by the broadband gateway 102.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to combine and/or blendmultiple contents for use as single content in the home network. Suchcombination may be performed in one or more of the modules of thebroadband gateway 102. For example, the broadband gateway 102 may blenddifferent video and audio contents for an event by accessing one or moreservice/content providers and providing automatic and/or manual contentsynchronization.

The protection, management, and/or tracking of confidential data, suchas health and financial records, for example, by tagging the data may beprovided by the broadband gateway 102. Only when a user authorizes thetransfer of the confidential data will such data be stored and/oraggregated. The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to create atrusted rating mechanism for content. The broadband gateway 102 may besecure against external threats that may be downloaded from outside thehome network and may provide a secure domain distribution in the homenetwork. Automated and secured billing and payment services may also beprovided by the broadband gateway 102.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to utilize client or homedevice profile information to select layered video service(s) and/ortransmission. Such information may be stored, at least temporarily, inthe memory module 206 of the broadband gateway 102. In some instances,the programming and/or enhanced video layers received by the broadbandgateway 102 may be aggregated midstream by one or more network orrouting nodes.

The broadband gateway 102 may support a reduction in the cost ofunwatched content by using multi-tier billing for downloaded content,such as video content. The broadband gateway 102 may be utilized toprovide a unified payment portal for collecting and/or aggregatingcharges from multiple service and/or content providers.

In operation, the gateway 102 may request and receive content from oneor more providers via the provider interface module 202 and the one ormore physical layer connections 108 ₁-108 _(J). The content may berequested and received from a network access provider such as a cable orsatellite company and/or may be requested from content provider such asYouTube, Hulu, or a broadcasting network and received via the physicallayer connection(s) 108 provided by a network access service provider.In some instances, different options for receiving particular contentmay be available via different ones of the physical layer connections108 ₁-108 _(J). Content received via the interface 202 may be stored tothe memory module 206 and/or to other local storage such as a digitalvideo recorder (DVR) communicatively coupled to the interface 208. Theprocessor module 204 may transcode and/or otherwise process content uponreceiving it and/or upon outputting it to one or more devices 104 viathe interface 208.

Upon determining that content is to be delivered to one or more devices104 via the interface 208, the processor module 204 may trigger asearch, via the interface 202, of available options for the content.Upon discovering the various options for receiving the content, theprocessor 204 may rank the options and select the highest-ranked optionto acquire the content.

FIG. 3 is diagram illustrating a broadband gateway operable to customizedelivery of content, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 3 there is shown a plurality of providers 302 ₁-302_(N), the broadband gateway 102, and a plurality of devices 304 ₁-304_(N), where N is any positive integer and M is any positive integer.Each of the providers 302 ₁-302 _(N) may be substantially similar to aservice provider 120 and/or a content provider 130 described withrespect to FIGS. 1 and 2. Each of the devices may be substantiallysimilar to one of the devices 104 a-104 m described with respect to FIG.1.

In operation, upon determining that particular content is to bedelivered to a device 304, the gateway 102 may search out options foracquiring the particular content. The gateway 102 may query, forexample, a search engine and/or send individual queries to each of oneor more providers 302 ₁-302 _(N). The discovered options for acquiringthe particular content may be stored in a table 306 with each of theentries 307 ₁-307 _(P), where P is any positive integer, correspondingto a different option. Each entry 307 _(p), where p is an integerbetween 1 and P, may store characteristics of the corresponding option.In an embodiment of the invention, each entry 307 _(p) may comprise afield that indicates the provider associated with the option, a fieldthat indicates quality of service associated with the option, a fieldthat indicates power consumption associated with the option, a fieldthat indicates when the option is available, and a field that indicatesthe price of the option.

The gateway 102 may also discover the devices 304 ₁-304 _(M), where M isany positive integer, to which it is communicatively coupled and theattributes of those devices. The attributes may be stored in a table 308with each entry 309 _(m), where m is an integer between 1 and M,comprising the attributes of the corresponding device 302 _(m).Attributes of the devices may comprise, for example, display resolution,number of audio channels supported, supported encoding and decodingtechniques, bandwidth of a connection between the device and the gateway102, and whether the device is operating on battery power and/or in alow power mode.

The gateway 102 may also store a table 310 of user criteria for rankingand selecting content options. In an embodiment of the invention, thetable 310 may comprise an entry 311 ₁ which comprises power consumptioncriteria. Power consumption criteria may indicate, for example, whethersaving power is important in deciding between options for receivingparticular content. In an embodiment of the invention, the table 310 maycomprise an entry 311 ₂ which comprises quality of service (QoS)criteria. Quality of service criteria may indicate, for example, latencythat is acceptable and/or error rates that are acceptable. Exemplaryerror rates may comprise bit error rates, packet error rates and/orframe error rates. In an embodiment of the invention, the table 310 maycomprise an entry 311 ₃ which comprises criteria that indicates whencontent may be available. Availability criteria may indicate, forexample, whether the content is desired as soon as possible or whetherthe user is willing to wait in order to get a lower price. In anembodiment of the invention, the table 310 may comprise an entry 311 ₄which comprises criteria for the price of content. Pricing criteria mayindicate, for example, how much the user is willing to pay forparticular content or types of content. In an embodiment of theinvention, the table 310 may comprise an entry 311 ₅ which comprisescriteria for which providers are utilized for obtaining content.Provider criteria may indicate, for example, a user's preferredprovider(s).

FIG. 4 is flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for customized deliveryof content, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referringto FIG. 4, the exemplary steps begin with either step 402 or step 404.In step 402, content may be scheduled for consumption by a device 304via the gateway 102. For example, a user may set the gateway 102 torecord a television show or tune to a channel at the start of thetelevision show.

In step 404, a user may enter and/or update criteria for ranking andselecting content options. Subsequent to step 404, the exemplary stepsmay advance to step 406 or to step 408 depending on variouscircumstances such as what the previous criteria were, what the newcriteria are, and what content is scheduled for delivery via the gateway102.

In step 406, the gateway 102 may search for options to receive scheduledcontent. The search may comprise, for example, querying variousproviders and/or a search engine designed to search for content providedvia not only public networks such as the Internet, but also privatenetworks such as cable television or satellite networks. In anembodiment of the invention, a first one or more options may bediscovered via a first physical layer connection 108 ₁ and one or moreoptions may be discovered via a second physical layer connection 108 ₂.For example, the first physical layer connection 108 ₁ may be a DSLconnection to the Internet and the second physical layer connection 108₂ may be a DOCSIS connection to a cable provider. Accordingly, thegateway 102 may discover the content available via the Internet and maydiscover the content available from the cable provider.

In step 408, the gateway 102 may rank the content options that werediscovered in step 406. An exemplary ranking technique is described withregard to FIG. 7 below. In step 410, the gateway 102 may select thehighest-ranked content option. In step 412, the gateway 102 may receivethe content in accordance with the selected option. In step 414, thegateway 102 may determine whether the received content is compatiblewith the device(s) 304 to which it is to be delivered and whether thereceive. For example, whether the encoding, compression, and/orresolution of the content is supported by the destination device(s) 304.

Additionally or alternatively, in step 414, the gateway may determinewhether the received content is compatible with user-specified criteria.For example, the content may have been downloaded based on a first setof criteria but the criteria may have since changed. As a result, thecontent may be transcoded to make it compatible, or more compatible,with the newer criteria. In an embodiment of the invention, the contentmay be transcoded to meet quality criteria. For example, the resolution,frame rate, and/or amount of compression may be adjusted to meetuser-specified criteria. In an embodiment of the invention, the contentmay be transcoded to meet power consumption criteria. For example, thecontent may be transcoded into a format that requires less energy todeliver over a network and/or to present on a device 304.

In instances that the received content is not compatible with thedestination device(s) 304 and/or the user-specified criteria, theexemplary steps may advance to step 416 and the gateway 102 maytranscode, reformat, and/or otherwise process the content to make itcompatible or otherwise suitable for processing and/or consumption bythe destination device(s) 304. For example, the resolution of thecontent may be scaled, have its frame rate adjusted, compressed,decompressed, decoded, and/or encoded. In instances that the receivedcontent is compatible with the destination device(s) 304 and theuser-specified criteria, the exemplary steps may skip step 416 andadvance to step 418. In step 418, the gateway 102 may deliver thecontent to the destination device(s) 304.

FIG. 5 is flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for customized deliveryof content, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referringto FIG. 5 the steps 502-510 are the same as steps 402-410, respectively.In step 512, the gateway 102 may download the content for laterconsumption. That is, the content may be downloaded prior to the time atwhich it is scheduled for consumption. Accordingly, the content may needto be stored locally in the gateway 102 and/or a storage device coupledto the gateway 102. In step 514, the gateway 102 may determine whetherthe content as received is compatible with the device(s) 304 via whichit will be consumed. Additionally or alternatively, in step 514, thegateway may determine whether the received content is compatible withuser-specified criteria. For example, the content may have beendownloaded based on a first set of criteria but the criteria may havesince changed. As a result, the content may be transcoded to make itcompatible, or more compatible, with the newer criteria. In instancesthat the content is not compatible with the destination device(s) 304and/or the user-specified criteria, then in step 516 the gateway 102 maytranscode, reformat, and/or otherwise process the content as it isreceived prior to storing it. By transcoding and/or reformatting thecontent prior to downloading it, storage space may be conserved ininstances that the transcoded and/or reformatted content is smaller. Instep 518, the gateway 102 may store the content to local memory and/orto a storage device, such as a digital video recorder, that iscommunicatively coupled to the gateway 102.

FIG. 6 is flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for customized deliveryof content, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referringto FIG. 6, the steps 602-612 are the same as steps 502-512,respectively. In step 614, the downloaded content may be stored locallyin the gateway 102 and/or in a storage device communicatively coupled tothe gateway 102. In step 616, a device 304 may request the content fromstorage. In step 618, the gateway 102 may determine whether the storedcontent is compatible with the device(s) 304 requesting it. Additionallyor alternatively, in step 618, the gateway may determine whether thereceived content is compatible with user-specified criteria. Forexample, the content may have been downloaded based on a first set ofcriteria but the criteria may have since changed. As a result, thecontent may be transcoded to make it compatible or suitable, with thenewer criteria. In instances that the received content is not compatiblewith the requesting device 304 and/or the user-specified criteria, theexemplary steps may advance to step 620, and the gateway 102 maytranscode, reformat, and/or otherwise process the content to make itsuitable for the requesting device 304. In instances that the receivedcontent is compatible with the requesting device 304, the exemplarysteps may skip step 620 and advance to step 622. In step 622, thegateway 102 may deliver the content to the requesting device 304.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps for ranking contentoptions, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 8, the exemplary steps may begin with step 702, when the gateway102 begins searching for available options for receiving particularcontent. In step 704, the gateway 102 may discover an option forreceiving the particular content. and may determine characteristics ofthe discovered option. For example, the gateway may determine thequality of the content associated with the option, the times that theoption is available, the price of the option, the provider associatedwith the option, and/or power consumption required for obtaining thecontent utilizing the option.

In step 706, the gateway 102 may assign one or more coefficients to oneor more of the characteristics of the content option. In an embodimentof the invention, the option may be assigned a quality coefficient, atime coefficient, a price coefficient, a provider coefficient, and powercoefficient.

In step 708, the gateway 102 may weight, that is, scale or adjust, theplurality of assigned coefficients by a corresponding plurality ofweighting factors. The weighting factors may be determined based on, forexample, user-specified criteria and/or on the attributes of the devicesto which the content is to be delivered. Accordingly, the weightingfactors may change as the user criteria and/or device attributes change.Furthermore, upon a change in one or more weighting factors, discoveredoptions may be re-ranked. In an embodiment of the invention, the gateway102 may determine a quality weighting factor, a time weighting factor, aprice weighting factor, a provider weighting factor, and power weightingfactor. For example, in instances that a user wants the lowest-costoption available, the price weighting factor may be set to a high valueand the other weighting factors may be set to lower values. For anotherexample, in instances that a device supports only standard-definitionvideo, the quality weighting factor may be set to a low value and theother factors may be set to higher values.

In step 710, the weighted coefficients of the option may be summedtogether resulting in a score for the option. In step 712, the optionand other options for the particular content may be ranked based ontheir respective scores.

Various aspects of a method and system for customized acquisition ofcontent by a broadband gateway are provided. In an exemplary embodimentof the invention, a broadband gateway 102 may be operable to determineoptions for acquiring particular content. The broadband gateway 102 maybe operable to rank the determined options. The ranking may be based onone or more characteristics of the options and based on user-specifiedcriteria. The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to select one of theoptions for acquiring the content based on results of the ranking. Thebroadband gateway 102 may support a plurality of physical layerconnections 108 to a corresponding plurality of network access serviceproviders 120. One or more of the options may be available via a firstone of the plurality of physical layer connections 108 ₁-108 _(J) andone or more of the options may be available via a second one of theplurality of physical layer connections 108 ₁-108 _(J). The one or morecharacteristics may comprise a provider associated with each of theoptions, a time of availability of each of the options, a quality of theparticular content associated with each of the options, a powerconsumption associated with each of the options, and/or a priceassociated with each of the options.

The user specified criteria may comprise one or more of: criteria forselecting between the options based on providers associated with theoptions, criteria for selecting between the options based on a time atwhich each of the options can be acquired, criteria for selectingbetween the options based on quality of a version of the particularcontent associated with each of the options, criteria for selectingbetween the options based on power consumption associated with acquiringand consuming the content, and criteria for selecting between theoptions based on a price associated with each of the options. Theuser-specified criteria may be stored in memory in the broadband gateway102. The gateway 102 may rank the determined options based on attributesof one or more devices 304 via which the particular content will beconsumed. The attributes may comprise one or more of: a displayresolution of the one or more devices 304, a decoding techniquesupported by the one or more devices 304, and a bandwidth of aconnection 106 between the one or more devices 304 and the broadbandgateway. The attributes may be stored in memory in the broadband gateway304.

The broadband gateway 102 may be operable to generate a score for eachone of the options and the options may be ranked based on the score. Thescore of an option may be generated by assigning one or morecoefficients to the one or more characteristics of the options, scalingor weighting the one or more coefficients by one or more correspondingweighting factors, and summing the weighted coefficients. The weightingfactors may be determined based on the user-specified criteria and/or onthe attributes of devices via which the particular content is to beconsumed.

Other embodiments of the invention may provide a non-transitory computerreadable medium and/or storage medium, and/or a non-transitory machinereadable medium and/or storage medium, having stored thereon, a machinecode and/or a computer program having at least one code sectionexecutable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machineand/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for customizedacquisition of content by a broadband gateway.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for networking, the method comprising:in a broadband gateway that is configured to handle at least onephysical layer connection to at least one corresponding network accessservice provider: determining different options available for acquiringa particular multimedia content, wherein the different options includedifferent providers from which to acquire the particular multimediacontent; ranking the determined different options available foracquiring the multimedia content using a score of each of the differentoptions, each score generated by determining one or more weightedcoefficients for one or more characteristics of a corresponding optionand summing the one or more weighted coefficients for the correspondingoption, the one or more weighted coefficients determined using at leastone of user-specified criteria or an attribute of a device by which theparticular multimedia content is to be consumed; and selecting one ofthe different options available for acquiring at least a portion of theparticular multimedia content based on the ranking.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least one physical layer connectioncomprises a plurality of physical layer connections and the at least onecorresponding network access service provider comprises a plurality ofcorresponding access service providers, and wherein each of theplurality of physical layer connections corresponds to a respective oneof the plurality of corresponding access service providers.
 3. Themethod according to claim 2, wherein one or more of the differentoptions are available via a first one of the plurality of physical layerconnections and one or more of the different options are available via asecond one of the plurality of physical layer connections.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the one or more characteristics comprisesone or more of: a provider associated with each of the differentoptions; a time of availability of each of the different options; aquality of the particular multimedia content associated with each of thedifferent options; a power consumption associated with each of thedifferent options; or a price associated with each of the differentoptions.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein user-specifiedcriteria comprises one or more of: criteria for selecting between thedifferent options based on providers associated with the differentoptions; criteria for selecting between the different options based on atime at which each of the different options can be acquired; criteriafor selecting between the different options based on quality of aversion of the particular multimedia content associated with each of thedifferent options; criteria for selecting between the different optionsbased on power consumption associated with acquiring or consuming theparticular multimedia content; or criteria for selecting between thedifferent options based on a price associated with each of the differentoptions.
 6. The method according to claim 1, comprising ranking thedetermined different options based on attributes of one or more devicesby which the particular multimedia content is to be consumed.
 7. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the attribute comprises: a displayresolution of the one or more devices; a decoding technique supported bythe one or more devices; or a bandwidth of a connection between the oneor more devices and the broadband gateway.
 8. The method according toclaim 1, comprising storing the attribute in memory in the broadbandgateway.
 9. The method according to claim 1, comprising determining oneor more weighted coefficients for a first option of the differentoptions by: assigning one or more coefficients to the one or morecharacteristics of the one of the first option; and weighting the one ormore coefficients by one or more corresponding weighting factors.
 10. Asystem for networking, the system comprising: one or more circuits foruse in a broadband gateway that is configured to handle at least onephysical layer connection to at least one corresponding network accessservice provider, the one or more circuits being configured to:determine different options available for acquiring a particularmultimedia content, wherein the different options include differentproviders from which to acquire the particular multimedia content; rankthe determined options available for acquiring the multimedia contentusing a score of each of the different options, each score generated bydetermining one or more weighted coefficients for one or morecharacteristics of a corresponding option and summing the one or moreweighted coefficients for the corresponding option, the one or moreweighted coefficients determined using at least one of user-specifiedcriteria or an attribute of a device by which the particular multimediacontent is to be consumed; and select one of the different optionsavailable for acquiring at least a portion of the particular multimediacontent based on the ranking.
 11. The system according to claim 10,wherein the at least one physical layer connection comprises a pluralityof physical layer connections and the at least one corresponding networkaccess service provider comprises a plurality of corresponding accessservice providers, and wherein each of the plurality of physical layerconnections corresponds to a respective one of the plurality ofcorresponding access service providers.
 12. The system according toclaim 11, wherein one or more of the different options are available viaa first one of the plurality of physical layer connections and one ormore of the different options are available via a second one of theplurality of physical layer connections.
 13. The system according toclaim 10, wherein the one or more characteristics comprises one or moreof: a provider associated with each of the different options; a time ofavailability of each of the different options; a quality of theparticular multimedia content associated with each of the differentoptions; a power consumption associated with each of the differentoptions; or a price associated with each of the different options. 14.The system according to claim 10, wherein the user-specified criteriacomprises one or more of: criteria for selecting between the differentoptions based on providers associated with the different options;criteria for selecting between the different options based on a time atwhich each of the different options can be acquired; criteria forselecting between the different options based on quality of a version ofthe particular multimedia content associated with each of the differentoptions; criteria for selecting between the different options based onpower consumption associated with acquiring and consuming the particularmultimedia content; or criteria for selecting between the differentoptions based on a price associated with each of the different options.15. The system according to claim 10, wherein the one or more circuitsare configured to store the user-specified criteria in memory in thebroadband gateway.
 16. The system according to claim 10, wherein the oneor more circuits are configured to rank the determined different optionsbased on attributes of one or more devices by which the particularmultimedia content is to be consumed.
 17. The system according to claim10, wherein the attribute comprises: a display resolution of the one ormore devices; a decoding technique supported by the one or more devices;or a bandwidth of a connection between the one or more devices and thebroadband gateway.
 18. The system according to claim 10, wherein the oneor more circuits are configured to store the attribute in memory in thebroadband gateway.
 19. The system according to claim 10, wherein the oneor more circuits are configured to: determine one or more weightedcoefficients for a first option of the different options by: assigningone or more coefficients to the one or more characteristics of the firstoption; and weighting the one or more coefficients by one or morecorresponding weighting factors.
 20. A non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium, having stored thereon, instructions being executable bya processor of a broadband gateway for causing the processor to perform:determining different options available for acquiring a particularmultimedia content, wherein the different options include differentproviders from which to acquire the particular multimedia content;ranking the determined different options available for acquiring themultimedia content using a score of each of the different options, eachscore generated by determining one or more weighted coefficients for oneor more characteristics of a corresponding option and summing the one ormore weighted coefficients for the corresponding option, the one or moreweighted coefficients determined using at least one of user-specifiedcriteria or an attribute of a device by which the particular multimediacontent is to be consumed; and selecting one of the different optionsavailable for acquiring at least a portion of the particular multimediacontent based on the ranking.
 21. The non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium according to claim 20, wherein the one or morecharacteristics comprises one or more of: a provider associated witheach of the different options; a time of availability of each of thedifferent options; a quality of the particular multimedia contentassociated with each of the different options; a power consumptionassociated with each of the different options; or a price associatedwith each of the different options.